The Obscurity in Us All
by AmandaArtiste
Summary: My first Invader Zim fic. This is a ZAGR that introduces a new character Gaz's best friend Karcy Wolfbane and explains how Gaz reacts to becoming an Irken. RR Plz
1. Gaz Comes Forward

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Disclaimer: I don't own Invader Zim, I'd be one happy mad genius if I did. MWUHAHAHA!!! But sadly, all I own is this story and the characters Karcy Wolfbane and Invader Blundra (and any other characters that I happen to throw in that aren't from the series). Okay all, enjoy this fiction and I'll go ahead and point out that this first chapter is from Gaz's point of view. Pairings include Karcy/Dib and of course Zim/Gaz!!!

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The Obscurity in Us All

Part One: Gaz Comes Forward

You're gonna think I'm crazy…

Don't ask me how I know, I just know you will. Especially after you hear what I have to say.

It all happened on a cold rainy day in October. Halloween. The worst day of the whole year for me. Now I know what you're thinking, 'What?! Gaz Membrane not like Halloween?! She's gotta be the creepiest girl out there! Why the heck wouldn't she love Halloween??'. Well, I'll tell you why. Halloween's the night when things changed for me, forever. And it was on the Halloween night that I'm basing my tale on that my life changed forever all over again.

But I won't get ahead of myself, forgive me if years of Game Slave have done away with crucial story-telling brain cells. The thing is, it was Halloween when I lost my mom. Don't worry, I won't get all gushy about it. No…the years have worn on and left my heart a cold lifeless thing, withered and without pity---or so I thought.

Losing my mom was hard. She got sick and well…she never got better. I was young then, six and almost seven. Dib was eight. It was hard on both of us. Especially our poor dad. Hey! I can show sympathy if I want too! I'm capable of emotions besides rage and depression!! The thing is, dad stopped spending time at home after mom died, he buried himself in his work, devoted his life to science, and just pretended that his kids were okay.

Okay?! HA! He couldn't BE more wrong! We're not okay, Dib, my older brother, he's so wrapped up in the paranormal that he's become the laughing stock of the entire skool! And if he weren't my brother and one of the only people I have left in this world so help me I'd have put him out mankind's misery a long time ago!

As for me, that's a laugh, I already told you I'm a slave to the Game Slave…and all its sequels. Yep, video games are my escape from the dark, harsh reality that is my life. Pizza's my main dish, not a home cooked meal by a loving parent. We had a puppy once, but me and Dib aren't really the pet types. So Fido or Rover or whatever we named it has no doubt gone to a better place now. Lucky him.

I've gotta be one the most independent elementary skoolers I know. And ya know what? I like it that way. Who cares what the other kids might whisper in the halls. I bet ya not a one of em would dare repeat it to my face! Yep, life is sweet. Or it was…until HE came.

Who's HE? Well I'll tell ya who he is. He's that green Irken guy Zim that came to conquer Earth. Don't freak out, he's REALLY bad at it. Hey, if DIB could foil his schemes ANYONE could. Anyways, Dib and Zim are constantly out to destroy each other and prove themselves superior or whatever…boys are so stupid. I'm usually neutral in their dumb little war but lately a new friend (yes I've finally sunk to making a friend) has pointed out that my heart isn't as dormant as I'd thought---and hoped.

Now you're probably asking who this new friend of mine is. Hold your blood pigs already I'm getting to it! Sheesh. Her name's Karcy Wolfbane. She's a werewolf. Don't roll your eyes at me! If Zim can be an alien out to rule over mankind then my best and only friend can be a werewolf!!

Karcy and me hang out pretty much all of the time. Sure it cuts into my video game time but I can make an exception for her. We usually hang out laughing at how dumb Dib and Zim are for bullying each other and not teaming up against the geeks at skool that kick them around. I mean, an alien and a science wiz should be able to come up with SOMEWAY of getting revenge on their pre-teen tormentors!

The best way of describing the latest Halloween, the second time my life made a permanent change, is to explain how Karcy and I first met that stormy October night. Okay kiddies, here comes the flashback. Don't act like G.I.R. (Zim's crazed robot sidekick) and have a panic attack just cuz the story gets a little weird. We're all a little weird, if ya stop to think about it. And the tale you're about to read, has got to be the weirdest of them all. And it's all about me, Karcy, a kid 'paranormal investigator', an Irken invader, and one seriously disturbed second hand robot…


	2. A HOWLloween Surprise

**A/N**: I know I seriously need to finish this fic already. But before I post anything new I wanted to rewrite and hopefully improve some of these other chapters.

**The Obscurity in Us All**

**Part Two: A HOWLloween Surprise**

The rain poured down from the gray and foreboding sky above as a very miserable girl with dark magenta hair sat at her desk staring out the window.

_I wish I'd brought some spare batteries for my Game Slave._ she inwardly sighed just as the bell rang. _It's about time. I was beginning to think the only way out of this stupid skool was gonna be to destroy the clock!_

Gaz Membrane picked her book bag up off the floor and ignored her overly cheerful teacher as she walked out the door behind the stampede of her mindless classmates. Nothing ever changed around here anymore. Things had gotten so dull it was a wonder why she ever pried herself away from her handheld video game.

Moaning as she walked out to the skool's entrance to wait for her annoying brother Dib she noticed that the rain was pouring down even harder now. _Perfect, it's like my rage increases it._ The thought made her smile, just considering that the imperfect weather could be all her doing. And on Halloween too.

Something snapped her out of her trance-like state. A group of children had gathered around the green kid that Dib was always pestering, Zim.

"Alright Zim," Dib sneered with his finger pointing in the disguised alien's direction, "this time there's no escape!"

"I wish I had a human slave for every time you said that to me, you pathetic little Earth monkey!" Zim taunted.

Grunting Gaz walked over to stop the two morons from killing each other, no way was she gonna blow her whole weekend attending funerals. Dib had produced yet another of his worthless paranormal hunting gadgets from his black trench coat and had it aimed at Zim. The Irken didn't really seem to care, there was a crowd so he couldn't defend himself with his PAK's spider leg extensions, but plenty of humans meant plenty of meat bag shields!

"Say your prayers alien!" Dib shrieked as he held up the weapon, something that looked like a cross between a black iron and a water gun. "Now I'm gonna finish you off once and for a—huh?"

To his surprise Gaz had appeared and grabbed the end of the blaster in her hand to prevent him from firing. "C'mon Dib, let's go. NOW! You can play with Zim later."

"Gaz! Quit interfering!" Dib motioned her away, "Can't you see I'm busy with fate of the world stuff here?"

Grinding her teeth she growled back at him, "Look Dib, either you and I go home in the next two seconds or I tell everyone here about how you like to do your chores without any-"

Dib clamped a hand over her mouth. "OK! I get it! We'll go!"

She slapped his hand away and turned to head off down the sidewalk. A few streaks of lightning lit the sky.

Muttering something about how pesky little sisters could be Dib turned back to face a very smug looking Irken. "You may have won this round _alien_, but I'll be back. You'll NEVER succeed!"

Zim snickered as he watched Dib storm off after the Gaz human. "Watch me."

* * *

"I had him Gaz!" Dib ranted once they were only two blocks from their house. "Why do you always have to stop me?"

"Why do _you_ always have to **annoy** me?" she countered, glaring at him with one eye.

Dib just looked at her and arched an eyebrow. "You just don't get it Gaz. Zim's trying to conquer the world! Just because he's an idiot doesn't mean that others from his race won't come and succeed. Like Tak!"

Now it was Gaz giving him the odd look. "Weirdo."

Another flash of lightning, but this time it struck the tree in front of them. It fell down towards the sidewalk and both fifth graders sprang out of its way.

"GAZ?" Dib called over the flaming mass of limbs.

Gaz got up and dusted herself off. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Stay there, I'll walk around." Dib shouted. But he stopped in his tracks when he saw that the tree had taken down the power lines, which had fallen right in his path sparkling and sizzling. "Um…maybe not."

Rolling her eyes Gaz yelled over her shoulder, "You go home loser, I'll just take the long way."

Cars had stopped in the street, blocking both lanes, and a tall fence stood on the other side. To make things worse the dumb tree just HAD to fall on her umbrella. "What is it with today?!" Gaz fumed. "Did I break a stupid mirror or something?"

Dib heard her complaining as she took off in the other direction. Sighing he continued on his way. "See ya at home!"

An aggravated grunt was his only reply.

* * *

She was on the outskirts of the hustling city grumbling to herself about how utterly pointless her life was while getting drenched in the rain when she heard a rustling in the alleyway she was passing.

"Who's there?" she demanded. _For your sake, you had better not be a mugger!_

_Lightning!_

No answer.

_No one's gonna ambush me. _Gaz thought._ ESPECIALLY not today!_

Picking up a wooden board lying at her feet she entered the alley. Whoever was trying to get the jump on her, they were gonna wish they'd never been born!

_Lightning!_

The rustling sound came again, this time from a cardboard box towards the alley's dead end. Slowly she approached it with her splintery weapon held high. "Alright you, come out of there! I'm warnin' ya. I'll bash your skull in!"

The figure inside couldn't have been much larger than she was and they certainly didn't seem willing to leave their hiding place. Fine by Gaz, she'd just use her 'club' and MAKE 'EM come out!

"Okay, you asked for it…" she readied her board to strike but it was caught in midair by a furry claw that shot out of the box. "Huh?"

_Lightning!_

"Who died and made you queen of the alley?" a scratchy voice demanded sarcastically from within the shadowed box. "Can't a creature of the night get outta the rain for a second in peace?"

Lifting an eyebrow as if to say 'Yeah right.' Gaz lowered her weapon and bent down for a closer look at the occupant.

"And just what are you supposed to be?"

_Lightning!_

Gaz's eyes widened when the sudden flash lit up the alley and revealed the creature within the cardboard. "You're a—a—"

"Werewolf." the girl finished.

The two of them stared at each other quizzically for a moment before the werewolf spoke again, "Um, this is the part where your ignorance of the unknown causes you to scream and flee for your wretched little life."

Gaz looked insulted. "Me?! You expect _**me**_ to runaway?"

"Well…yeah." the wolf girl answered back.

"Why?"

"Because, I'm a WEREWOLF!"

"So?"

"So?!" the girl looked at Gaz strangely before continuing, "So…why aren't you afraid of me like all the others?"

"My brother's a wannabe paranormal investigator," Gaz replied casually, "you're nothing compared to some of the lame faked photos he keeps pinned up in his room. And I'm not exactly like 'all the others' either."

_Heh, Dib would freak out if he knew I was standing here talking to a __**werewolf **__while he sits at home playing supernatural spy._ The thought of how jealous her brother would be, if he only knew, made her smile.

Eyeing the young girl suspiciously the werewolf spoke again, "So, you're planning to sic your brother on me so that he can hand me over to his weird science friends? Then they'll run all kinds of painful tests on me?"

Her dark green eyes seemed to flash as she glared at Gaz distrustfully.

"Tsch, no." Gaz replied. "I just thought you were planning to jump me or something. But since you're not, I'll let you live."

"How kind of you." the werewolf laughed. "My name's Karcy." she extended her paw in greeting, "you seem okay. A little on the creepy side, but it's always nice to meet a fellow freak."

From the way she talked Gaz could tell this wolf girl didn't exactly have the highest self esteem in the world. It probably came with the beastly territory.

After a brief pause she shook her paw. "Thanks…I guess. I'm Gaz."

"Gaz Membrane?" Karcy gasped.

"Yeah."

"Wow!" Karcy leapt out of the box and nearly knocked her over in her excitement. "You mean you're _THE_ daughter of Professor Membrane, the world renowned scientific genius?!"

Gaz rolled her eyes, "Oh great, you're one of those science nerds like my brother."

"Sorry," Karcy chuckled nervously scratching the back of her neck, "it's just that I'm really impressed by Professor Membrane's work. I sort of invent stuff and play around with formulas in my lab."

"You have your own lab?"

"It's just a little one, in my basement. My parents and I just moved here last week. We've been unloading all the equipment and boxes since then. When I went to enroll at the skool they told me I'd be in the same class as Professor Membrane's daughter. I remembered your name from the back of his trading card."

Karcy fished a card from a pocket on her tattered red dress and held it up so Gaz could see. A picture of her father stared back at her, holding up a vile of some bubbling green elixir. She grumbled at the sight. Sometimes it really stunk to have a father who was such a big celebrity in the scientific community.

"Well if you're so smart, why don't you just skip ahead instead lagging back in the fifth grade?" she questioned, eager for a subject change.

"Yeah well," Karcy sighed, "I'm not really in a hurry to end school early. I mean, what with my 'condition' and all. If kids my own age can't accept me then what chance have I got with the rest of the world?"

"Aren't your parents werewolves too?"

"No, and they don't even know I am." she stressed the point, letting Gaz know she wanted to _keep_ it that way. "I've been like this for a few years now. It's nothing genetic, just spontaneous. I wasn't bitten or anything, it's just kind of a—mutation." Karcy shrugged. "I started getting into paranormal science after my first transformation. I wanted to find out what caused it and maybe make a cure. My parents just think I'm some sort of kid genius who's really into science, like maybe I'll win the Noble Prize or something. I just want to get back to normal before someone like your brother tries to put a silver bullet in me."

"I wouldn't let him." Gaz assured her, imaging her brother gloating over having finally gotten his proof of the supernatural. "Go ahead and come to skool. I'll make sure NO ONE gives you a hard time."

"Really?" Karcy asked in disbelief. "Why would you do that?"

"Cuz you remind me of someone." Gaz shrugged.

"Who?"

"He's kind of a 'freak' too. The kids pick on him and stuff." she explained, "he needs to learn to stand up for himself, but he thinks it'll ruin his big scheme. I almost hate to tell him that he's a hopeless failure at it."

Karcy was really confused now, but she decided to take Gaz at her word anyway. "I should head home now. I hate coming out in the rain all day but I couldn't let my parents see me like this. They'd freak out."

"I'll bet," Gaz smiled, an _**actual**_ smile.

"Hey!" Karcy laughed, "I don't look _that_ bad!"

"So you can switch back and forth?" Gaz observed as Karcy's fur faded away, leaving only her black hair, green eyes, and red dress the same. "Why don't you just stay in this form if you're so worried about someone catching on to what you are?"

"I would if I could," Karcy admitted, "but if I don't spend at least a few hours like this everyday I'll lose control of my changing and then who knows where I'd be when I transformed? It gets even harder to manage on moonlit nights and **impossible** during full moons! Then there's the howling and stuff."

"So you _have_ lost control before?"

"More times than I'd like to remember." the wolf girl winced. "But I've been reading up on creatures like me, which should help."

"Hn, you'd love Dib's book collection." Gaz snorted.

Karcy followed Gaz out of the alley and they began walking home together as the storm passed over them.

"And the whole thing about mutants being dangerous is completely bogus!" Karcy stated passionately as they rounded another curb. "You can't judge us all based on the stupid things a few jerks do. I mean, look at me, I'm a werewolf but I don't go around clawing out people's eyes or gnawing their throats with my teeth at night!"

"Yeah, they mostly think I'm weird because I like to play my Game Slave…a lot." Gaz added the last part hastily, Karcy just grinned. "I'm also kind of a loner. And—the truth is—I hate people. I just can't stand 'em, ya know? They're always so bossy and judgmental. What's wrong with being antisocial anyway?"

"Nothing," Karcy answered, still grinning, "but then again, I might not be the best person to ask."

"Well," Gaz sighed when they reached the end of her driveway, "here it is, home sweet miserable home."

"It doesn't look so bad." Karcy commented absently. "My house is just down the block."

"Too bad for you," Gaz smirked, "make sure you don't let Dib find out you're a werewolf."

"Thanks for the tip." Karcy nodded as Dib stepped out onto the stoop.

"GAZ! There you are. Where have you been?" he snapped, "I was on my way out thinking Zim had captured you!"

"I'm guessing Zim is the odd kid you told me about," Karcy muttered to Gaz.

The magenta haired girl nodded. "And here comes the oddest one of all."

Dib stopped in his tracks when he saw the strange new girl standing next to his sister. "Who's she?"

"Karcy Wolfbane," she introduced herself, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Dib reluctantly shook hands with her. "Did you just move here or something?"

"That's right." Karcy gave Gaz a quick wink and turned back to Dib. "I can see it's going to be a real _howl _living close to you two."

Gaz snickered as Karcy walked away. "See ya Karcy."

"Later Gaz," the wolf girl called back as she disappeared around the corner.

"She's…different." Dib stated. Gaz just shoved past him and went into the house. "Definitely your type of friend."

Growling at his remark she made a point of slamming the door behind her—and locking it.

* * *

_To be continued…_


	3. Target Gaz

**A/N**: Yet another chapter I've gone back and rewritten. Though I haven't changed much in this one it was hopefully an improvement.

**The Obscurity in Us All**

**Part Three: Target Gaz**

Gaz groaned when she heard a knock at her door later that evening. "What?"

"It's Dib," her brother answered, "I'm going out to look for Zim. Heh, he's probably cowering in his base like last year. Dad wants to know if you want me to take you trick-or-treating while I'm out."

"I haven't been trick-or-treating since I was six, Dib." Gaz spat angrily. "You BOTH know that."

"So…you don't wanna go?" Dib questioned.

In lieu of a reply Gaz threw her Game Slave carrier at the door. Dib took the abrupt thud to mean she was losing her patience, so he turned and left.

"Now on to the secret level of bloody doom," Gaz said to herself once she was sure she was alone again. With her dad at the lab for most of the night and Dib out stalking Zim she'd have the whole Halloween to herself. Just the way she liked it.

_RING!_

"Grr…" Gaz let the phone ring two more times before irritably taking it off the hook and grunting a hello.

"Happy Halloween to you too, sunshine." a familiar voice laughed on the other end.

Gaz half-opened an eye. "Karcy?"

"The one and only." came the reply, "I can't believe you were listed. Anyway, I just saw Dib head down the street with some weird gym bag full of gadgets, figured he was off to do some 'investigating'. Are you gonna spend all Halloween cooped up in your room?"

"That's the plan."

"Ugh…_Gaz_, it's Halloween for cryin' out loud. The one day of the year where the freaks RULE the night!" Karcy heard Gaz snicker as she continued to explain passionately. "There is no way that I'm letting you waste tonight sitting around with your face and fingers glued to that video game. I'm coming over right now and you'd better have a costume or something on because we're gonna paint the town red!"

"You're almost as nuts as Dib, you know that?" Gaz laughed. "There's no way I'm coming out of my nice dark room and running around the town with a bunch of idiots in costume hyped up on candy. You hear me Karcy? No wa-"

_Click!_

Moaning Gaz hung up the phone and hopped off her bed. Walking over to her dresser she slid out the bottom drawer and pushed some of her things aside to reveal a tiny costume accessory. "I can't believe I'm doing this." she sighed as she slipped it on.

_Ding dong!_

Karcy tapped her foot impatiently on the stoop, waiting for Gaz to answer the door. It didn't surprise her not to see a car in the driveway. A famous inventor like Professor Membrane probably wouldn't be able to spend a lot of time at home.

The door swung open revealing a dismal little girl in a black mask holding a carton of eggs. "Happy now?"

"Very." Karcy grinned, pulling the pack of toilet paper out from under her arm. "Which house should we _**doom**_ first?"

Gaz didn't even have to think about it, she knew EXACTLY where she wanted to go. "How about—_Zim's base_?"

* * *

"GIR! STOP RUNNING AROUND LIKE SOME CRAZY…err…THING!" Zim ordered the insane robot darting around the lab. 

"I'm a bat!" GIR announced pouncing on his 'master', "And I'm gonna suck the blood from your neck!"

Zim rolled his eyes and shoved the malfunctioning slave off him. "You're a disgrace to SIRs everywhere GIR."

This caused the robot to pause for a moment. His lower lip quivered slightly before an elated look passed over his metal face. "YAY!"

"That's BAD GIR!" Zim shouted just as a siren blared from the monitor.

"_Security breech!_"

"WHAT?!" Zim panicked, "Who would dare?!"

An image appeared on the monitor showing Dib sneaking around behind the couch in the house level.

"The Dib." Zim's eyes narrowed as he stared at his human foe.

"It's your friend with the big head!" GIR grinned widely. "HI DIB!"

"I'll take care of this menace," Zim cackled as he stepped onto the platform and traveled up toward the house. "I'll throw him to the Halloweenies!"

"WOW!" Dib was surprised at having made it so far into Zim's base without being caught. The alien was always springing up behind him just when he least expected it.

"AHA!" Zim shouted, popping out of the toilet in the kitchen and charging into the living room after Dib. "Thought you could get by me did you? You filthy human stink beast!"

"ZIM!" Dib's eyes narrowed and a smile flashed across his face. "Say 'cheese'!"

"AHHH!!" Zim shielded his eyes as Dib snapped pictures, not forgetting to remove the lens cap this time.

"Better yet," Dib snickered, "say 'alien autopsy'!"

Zim's spider legs shot out of his PAK, "Think again sad little Earth monkey!"

"I smell candy!" GIR announced, spinning around in circles.

Zim and Dib were too busy launching attacks on each other to listen or care.

Finally dizzy GIR fell over, got up, and walked over to the window. "There are two girls in our driveway!"

"QUIET GIR! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M RIDDING US OF THE DIB?!" Zim shouted.

"IN YOUR DREAMS ALIEN SCUM!" Dib retorted, dodging another blast and sticking the roll of film in his back pocket.

"Ready?" Karcy asked Gaz with a sly glance.

"Let the games begin." Gaz sniggered and threw an egg at Zim's front door. It smashed against the Men's sign dead-on. "Direct hit!"

"ROWR!" Karcy took on her werewolf form and unleashed her claws. "I think we can do better than that."

Dib and Zim continued to sling insults and exchange fire in Zim's living room while GIR watched the two strange girls desecrate the base. "YAY! They're throwin' Easter Eggs!"

By now Gaz and Karcy had covered Zim's whole house in toilet paper and 'Easter' eggs. Karcy had even taken the liberty of clawing Zim's fence and front door. GIR simply waved out the window.

Gaz wasn't ready to move on yet though, she knew her idiot brother was in there somewhere, fighting with stupid Zim. She'd teach them to annoy her.

"What are you doing?" Karcy hissed as Gaz casually strolled up to the door and knocked. "The whole point of doing this is NOT to get caught!"

"Trust me." Gaz winked over her shoulder, tossing a clump of mud up and down. "This'll be fun."

"Hm?" Zim stopped firing at Dib long enough to go answer the door. _This better not be any of those horrible Halloweenies!_

"Don't think you're getting off that easily!" Dib rushed over as Zim swung open the door and-

"**AAAHHH!!**"

Both boys received a prompt mouthful of dirt.

Gaz snickered, "Told you I'd doom you both for bugging me." and headed back toward Karcy.

Dib spit the dirt out onto the kitchen floor then caught sight of Karcy, "WOW! A WEREWOLF!"

Too late, Gaz and Karcy were already halfway down the street with their supplies.

"Aw man! _Mysterious Mysteries_ is gonna devote an entire episode to me for this!" Dib beamed grabbing his camera and heading off in the same direction as his sister and the wolf girl.

GIR toddled over to Zim who was still gagging on the dirt clod. "Aw…your little friend ran away."

Wiping his mouth Zim glared down the street. "He won't escape my wrath this time."

The roof spread apart seconds later, unleashing the Voot Cruiser and Zim. The alien and his spacecraft soared after Dib while GIR scraped broken eggshells off the house. "I'm gonna hide these!" he announced to the stunned trick-or-treaters.

* * *

"Lost 'em!" Dib panted after chasing his sister and 'the creature' to the edge of the woods. "Can't…give up…hope." he pep talked himself into getting up and resuming the search. 

Meanwhile Karcy and Gaz raced on through the dark forest until they came to a grassy cliff overhanging the polluted countryside.

"Cool huh?" Gaz asked, plopping down on a rock. "Whenever I bother going out I usually come here to ditch Dib and all my annoying classmates."

Karcy perched on the rock beside her, "Cool. It's dank, dreary, and secluded. I like it."

A small smile crossed Gaz's features. "Bet'cha it takes Dib all night to find us."

"Well I bet he's already lost by now." Karcy sneered.

A bright flash from overhead caught them off guard.

"What was that?" the werewolf gasped.

"Shooting star." Gaz shrugged.

_CRASH!_

"Do shooting stars crash?" she asked Gaz uneasily.

Curiosity peeked, Gaz got off the rock and went to investigate. "Maybe Zim went down in his stupid spaceship?" she started grinning, "Maybe he's dead?"

"Morbid." Karcy snickered when they came to a rest in front of the strange downed aircraft. Obviously it wasn't something of their world. "Is that Zim's ship? It looks…alien. Wait, Zim's an alien?! Figures."

_Heh, she took that pretty well._ Gaz thought in amusement. _Then again, something like visitors from outer space is probably easier for a werewolf to accept._ Studying the ship she noticed the unfamiliar design and grumbled, "It's not the Voot Cruiser. And there's no Irken symbol."

"So who's in it?" Karcy persisted.

Right on cue the door to the craft slid open and a very shambled pink alien about Zim's height staggered out. She wobbled over holding some sort of scanner and passed it in front of the girls. She froze when the readings on Gaz came back. "YOU!"

"Yeah, what about me?" Gaz challenged.

Whipping some sort of ray gun out of her holster the alien aimed for Gaz. "I am Biq from Orcobion, sworn enemy of the Irkens! It is the Orcobions who are meant to rule the galaxy! All Irkens shall fall and those who help them—shall be **destroyed**!"

"I think she means you." Karcy whispered to Gaz.

The Goth girl was unfazed. "I've seen better weapons on Mysterious Mysteries'_dramatic_ reenactments. You don't scare me! And I don't work for the Irkens either! Go bug Zim!"

The pink alien put her free hand on her hip, "Maybe _now_ you don't Earthian, but soon your disdain for your own kind and controlling nature is bound to make you an Irken ally. And the Orcobions cannot risk that!"

Gaz's eye twitched, with clenched fists she warned, "You do **not **want to invoke my wrath."

Grinning devilishly the alien answered, "Not a problem. Since Irkens are weaker than Orcobions I'll just hybridize you with Irken DNA collect from your beloved Zim—who really needs to stop leaving those disgusting contacts laying around—and then CRUSH YOU like the bug-eyed slave you are!"

Karcy leapt to block the shot as Biq fired at Gaz but she was a split second too late. "GAZ!"

Her friend hit the ground hard clutching her left side in agonizing pain. "YOU WILL PAY!" she swore to Biq.

"I think not." Biq laughed and produced another weapon, this time to obliterate her weakened adversary.

"How'd she find out about me anyway?" Gaz snarled as Karcy helped her to her feet.

"I dunno," Karcy shrugged, "the Internet?"

"FOOLS!" Biq cackled madly. What _was_ it with aliens and doing that? "I've been monitoring the Irken's progress in conquering this planet. He's a pitiful failure and I aim to take out the weakest nuisances first!" firing she missed, "STAND STILL IRKEN SLAVE! FACE YOUR**DOOM**!"

"I'll give her doom." Gaz jeered while Karcy her behind the rocks.

"Stay put," Karcy practically begged, "or have your forgotten about being SHOT?!"

Gripping her bloodstained black dress Gaz muttered, "No."

"Come out little human," Biq called mockingly, "Time to eat hot laser!"

A few blasts chipped the edges off the rocks as the deranged alien advanced towards them. "I'll draw her fire." Karcy volunteered.

"Why?" Gaz snapped, "So she can deep fry you?!"

"No." Karcy looked hurt, "Because you're my friend. We...are friends, right? And that means I can't let her destroy you."

Gaz didn't respond; she just stared at the brave (albeit foolhardy) werewolf crouching over her. Without so much as a goodbye Karcy leapt over the rocks and lunged for Biq.

Not long after the struggle began Gaz's vision started to blur. The world spun around her in flashes of light and strange neon colors. Her whole body tingled as an unnatural change took place. Hot and cold spells sit in as the sounds of Biq's laser firing faded into the chaotic whirl of shrill pitches and sudden bursts of silence. Unable to fight it off any longer Gaz blacked out.

The battle raged on between Karcy and Biq until…

"Inferior creature!" Biq shouted, delivering a hard kick to Karcy's abdomen. The werewolf dropped like a stone at the alien's feet. "That'll teach you not to interfere with an Orcobion Invader!"

Moaning Gaz slowly regained consciousness. One thing was for sure—she didn't feel so good.

"Wakey wakey little HUMAN! Or should I say, hahaha, IRKEN!"

_What's this idiot talking about?_ Gaz wondered groggily.

Biq delighted in Gaz's confusion but remembered she had a job to do. Raising her laser she took aim.

Karcy pushed herself up off the ground, returning to her human form. "Ooooh… That's the last time I try anything heroic."

"I FOUND IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Dib exclaimed as he came darting out into the clearing waving his camera, "THE WEREWOLF!"

Karcy was just plain annoyed now, "I need this like I need another blow to the stomach—GAZ!"

Dib stopped dead in his tracks, "What about Gaz?! OH NO! DID YOU **EAT** MY SISTER?!"

"NO!" Karcy growled, pointing over her shoulder, "There's some Orcobion alien back there trying to disintegrate her!"

"WHAT?!" Dib raced around the rocks and caught sight of the odd scene. It would've been pretty cool—if his little sister's life wasn't hanging in the balance. "GAZ!"

"I'm busy now DIB!" Gaz grunted, "Go away!"

Overhead the Voot Cruiser, which had been tracking Dib through the endless maze of trees and shrubs, provided Zim with a perfect view of all that was happening below. "An Orcobion!" Zim spat. "They're filthy."

_ZAP!_

"RUN ALL YOU WANT HUMAN! YOU'LL **NEVER** ESCAPE ME!" Biq called as she backed Gaz to the edge of the cliff.

Dib and Karcy rushed ahead to stop her but Biq spun around with a small remote control device. Pressing the button she trapped both 'heroes' in a paralyzation field. "So much for your little rescue party," she snickered to Gaz.

Sneering Gaz stood her ground, "Your threats are stupid!"

Pulling the trigger Biq sent Gaz hurdling over the cliff. "FAREWELL IRKEN ALLY!"

Biq failed to notice that the intensity of the blast caused a large portion of the cliff to give way—namely—the part she was standing on.

"What the—AAAAHHH!!!" the Orcobion suddenly joined Gaz in her fall to the jagged rocks, oil barrels, and shattered bottles below.

Dib and Karcy struggled against the immobilizing effects of the alien device but found the field too strong.

_She's doomed!_ Dib winced.

_Wonder if Orcobions bounce?_ Karcy pondered wickedly.

Gaz actually shut her eyes just before she was halfway to the bottom. One would assume her to be fearless and to face danger (even her demise) head on. Cringing against the certain pain that was coming Gaz felt her body slam into something that felt more like an electrified barrier.

She heard the screams of Biq, who didn't hit the same humming surface, and the sparking of the remote control device as it shattered on the rocks below.

Freed from the field Karcy and Dib fell to the dirt. "That's twice tonight!" Dib complained, spitting out a mouthful of soil.

Karcy ran ahead to check on Gaz. She'd gotten less than a few steps away from the edge when the glowing green beam pulled the young mutated girl up into view.

Dib caught up and stood beside Karcy, both their jaws hung open wide. Everyone but Gaz was speechless as the glowing barrier created by the beam moved her up onto solid ground and dropped her in front of her awestruck companions.

The pair's eyes traveled upwards to just above where she stood. Grinning slightly at their confusion Gaz turned to discover that her rescuer was none other than… "Zim?"

* * *

_To be continued…_


	4. She's One of Zim!

**A/N**: I've given this chapter a makeover too. Trying to balance depth and insanity in this story has proven kind of challenging.

**The Obscurity in Us All**

**Part Four: She's One of Zim!**

"_Zim_ rescued my sister?" Dib gasped in disbelief.

"YES! I AM **ZIM**! YOUR RESCUER AND THE MAGNIFICENT BEING TO WHICH YOU OWE YOUR VERY LIFE!" Zim gloated to Gaz.

"Yeah, thanks." she answered indifferently.

"Looks like Biq bit the dust." Karcy murmured, leaning over the edge of the cliff and spying the mutilated remains at the bottom.

"Well, the beam could only hold one of you." Zim admitted, "And Gaz is more useful to me as an ally—err—_**slave **_than Biq could ever be."

Dib narrowed his eyes, "And what makes you think my sister would ever work for you?!"

"Because she OWES me pathetic Earth boy!" Zim shouted back.

Gaz wasn't paying attention to either of them as she inspected her new Irken form. "Hm…not bad. I kinda look like one of the characters from my vampire piggies game."

Landing the Voot Cruiser Zim stepped out and marched over to Gaz. "So your DNA's been spliced with mine then has it?"

"I guess."

Looking her over he noted that she made a surprisingly attractive Irken, not that he was about to tell HER that. Beauty wasn't something valued that highly among his people anyway. Size, effiency, and…well…_size_, mattered most. "I suppose you could pass for an Irken like this. At least now you're physically suited to rank above your fellow stink beasts after I—_**ZIM**_—conquer the planet."

"In your dreams Zim!" Dib sneered.

"Oh, you're still here." Zim tilted his head and went over to the edge of the cliff where Karcy was still standing. "Step aside, Earth…_dog_…thing."

"Try _werewolf_ Zim." Karcy gritted her teeth, realizing he recognized her from earlier at his base.

"SILENCE!" Zim pointed a device at Biq's remains. Instantly a heat beam shot out and incinerated her every last cell. "Can't leave garbage like that lying around for the Dib to tamper with."

"Aw man!" Dib whined.

"You're a bunch of sick kids, you know that right?" Karcy glared at both boys.

Heading back to his ship Zim paused and turned to Karcy. "I don't think I need to warn you _werewolf_, but if you breathe a word of my alien identity to any of these Earth worms I'll spill the secret of your mutation."

Karcy growled. Leave it to Zim to make a clever threat when he didn't even know the first thing about werewolves.

The Irken sat down at his ship's controls proudly. "We'll settle this another time Dib, just don't go and try dissecting your little sister!"

Evil laughter followed as the Voot Cruiser flew upwards and soared off.

"I can tell I'm not gonna like him very much." Karcy muttered, catching Dib's attention.

"HEY!" he exclaimed, "That's right! You're a werewolf! I can catch you on film and everything!"

He reached into his back pocket a second too late. Gaz grabbed the camera and ripped out the film. "No Dib. Karcy's my BEST FRIEND," _since I don't technically have any other friends to compare her to_, "and if you so much as harm a strand of fur on her body…I'LL SEND YOU HURTLING INTO A HIDEOUS NIGHTMARE WORLD FROM WHICH THERE IS NO RETURN!!!"

Dib gulped, "G-Got it."

Gaz returned the camera and destroyed film to her brother who took it and sulked off back through the forest.

"Some Halloween huh?" Karcy asked her new friend.

"I think it went pretty well." Gaz smiled, picking up the torn mask she'd lost during her fight with the now late Invader Biq, "This _is_ the best costume I've ever had."

"Wanna head back to my lab so we can find out more about what Biq did to you?" Karcy suggested.

"Sure."

* * *

Back in Karcy's lab she ran a full diagnostic of Gaz's condition. The two girls waited while the results finished printing out from the computer. 

Gaz looked around with mild interest. The place wasn't all that impressive. A chemistry kit, some filing cabinets filled to capacity, a larger-than-average computer console (obviously modified using second hand parts), and a small assortment of inventions designed to scan and monitor the body's inner functions. Her dad's lab was way more high-tech. Though she supposed someone who worked off an elementary skooler's budget couldn't be expected to have facilities as advanced as a world renowned scientific genius. Even Dib had limited resources. Their dad had already garnished his allowance considerably to discourage his paranormal research, at least Karcy had her own basement.

"Hm…" the ebony haired girl skimmed the printout with a thoughtful expression, "according to this Gaz your mutation isn't all that different from mine. You're basically in shape-shifting mode. Kind of like a hybrid, a cross between two species. You've seen me switch between forms before right?"

Gaz nodded.

"Well, these readouts say that you should be able to do the same thing with your Irken and human forms." Karcy summarized. "Go ahead, give it a try."

Gaz sat there for a moment staring at the junior scientist before asking, "How?"

"Visualization." Karcy groaned, "You've got to picture yourself changing. Mental imaging and stuff!"

Hopping to the floor Gaz decided to give it a shot. It beat becoming a freak of science again like when her idiot brother cast that spell of the Shadow Hog on her. Some nights she still woke up cringing, her dreams plagued by the memories of tasting nothing but _PORK_! Ugh.

_So all I've gotta do is picture myself human again and I'll change back to normal huh? Hn, here goes…_ Clenching her eyes shut she tried to form a mental image of herself as a regular human girl (loosely speaking). Concentrating harder she willed her body to assume its rightful appearance. It was like trying to move a boulder with her mind, all she seemed to be gaining—was a headache, but then…

Karcy watched as the lightning shaped antenna shrank back into her friend's magenta hair (which, for some reason, hadn't been altered by the mutation). Meanwhile Gaz's skin pigment resumed its pale shade of peach. When she opened her eyes again the violet orbs had morphed back into white human eyeballs with amber irises. "Did it work?"

"Yep."

Pleased with herself Gaz practiced shifting between her two forms a few more times. It felt great! Like mastering a new move in one of her video games. "I could get used to this."

"That's what I thought." Karcy sighed. "Look Gaz, if you're really like me with this mutation, you're gonna have to spend a certain amount of time in your Irken form each day or-"

"Or?" Gaz prompted.

"-you'll lose control of your shifting completely."

Gaz pondered this a moment. "I guess that would stink."

Placing her hands on her hips the wolf girl grunted, "AREA 51 may be an alien site but I'm sure they'd make an exception for a werewolf and human/Irken hybrid!"

"Guess you're right." Gaz nodded, "So I'll spend the night like this. That's okay. I'll just play my Game Slave to pass the time. No problem."

"Oh there's a problem." Karcy protested, "There's your dad for one thing."

"He's never home," Gaz assured her. "And when he is he's too buried in work down in his lab to notice anything else."

"What about that nutty brother of yours?"

"He wouldn't dare." Gaz snarled as she thought of Dib turning on her. "I'd make him pay."

"Even if all that's true," Karcy insisted, "mutations are unpredictable things. Even_I_ can't control mine and I've had it for years, maybe even my whole life. Expect the unexpected. You're a walking, shifting time bomb now. At any moment the slightest thing could trigger your transformation."

"Well what am I supposed to do?!" Gaz exclaimed. She hated being a mutant already.

"Not sure." the wolf girl admitted, "Just be careful."

Crossing her arms Gaz turned to face the wall, "Great. Why don't I just lock myself in my room 'til I croak?"

Karcy narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "You'd get sick of being caged after a while."

Gaz shot her a look. "Nice to know you've tried that."

"When you're a freak you get desperate." she answered. "Just accept that you're unusual and go on with life. There's obscurity in everyone."

"Whatever." Gaz headed up the stairs. As an afterthought she mumbled, "See ya at skool Monday?"

"I'll be there, sans fur." Karcy promised with a wink.

"Cool." Gaz grinned, feeling slightly better now that the atmosphere wasn't so serious. "I'll try to be less green. See ya."

"Later."

* * *

_To be continued…_


	5. Way to Blow Your Cover!

**A/N**: Once again I've done some revising to this chapter to make it more interesting and…uh…less bad.

**The Obscurity in Us All**

**Part Five: Way to Blow Your Cover!**

Monday crept up on the candy stuffed students a lot sooner than any of them would've liked. Everyone had their own reason for not wanting to return to skool. Several kids were suffering from a massive sugar overdose, as well as one chocolate covered robot. Dib was still sulking over the loss of physical evidence about the two actual freaks of nature he'd encountered that Halloween. Gaz couldn't have cared less, skool just meant less Game Slave time and having to deal with her idiotic classmates for another week. Karcy was nervous about enrolling in a new skool and the ever present fear of losing control of her transformation. The only one actually looking forward to skool that day was…well…Zim!

* * *

_Down in the lab sector of Zim's base…_

"MWUHAHAHA!!!" Zim cackled evilly as he watched the tape of Gaz's transformation over again. "This is the ULTIMATE revenge against the DIB creature! Having his little sister turned into an Irken like me! MWUHAHAHA-_ACK_-!"

GIR bounded happily into the room as Zim choked mid-laugh. "I'm a piñata!" he announced before knocking himself in the head with a bat.

"Yes, so you are." Zim nodded. His antennas perked. "Wait…where did you get that thing?"

GIR paused a moment, blinked, then shrugged.

Sighing Zim turned back to his monitors and allowed GIR to smack himself senseless with the wooden apparatus. _Gaz is indeed a formidable opponent_, he thought while tapping his chin, _The only question is: how to get her to side with me? She already owes me—ZIM—her very life. But will that be enough? Females on this planet are indeed some of the most stubborn creatures in the universe._

As Zim puzzled over how to 'convince' Gaz to help him the computer's monitors began blinking red and a printout spewed forth from one of the device's many slots straight into his lap.

"What's this?!" Zim exclaimed, quickly scanning over the information.

"_Test results from the analysis you ordered on the Earth girl's blood sample."_

"Huh?"

The computer sighed._"It was retrieved from the Voot Cruiser's retractor beam. You order me to separate the particles and determine the nature of the mutation the Orcobion's weapon induced on the human subject."_

To the computer's relief Zim went back to skimming the results. A few moments passed where only the faint clanging noise of the bat conking GIR in the head could be heard. Then an evil grin spread over Zim's previously perplexed features. _Interesting…_

* * *

_Later that day at skool…_

_It just doesn't add up_. Dib contemplated the weekend's events while Ms. Bitters droned on about the universe imploding on itself (she was up to giving that lecture twice a week now). _Why would Gaz be so protective of a werewolf? She may be kinda spooky (okay so __**that's**__ an understatement) but she's never cared about the supernatural before. And she said they're friends? Gaz doesn't have any friends—except that Game Slave. Hm…_

"In conclusion children," Ms. Bitters continued, "we're all just doomed. Doomed…doomed…doomed…"

Meanwhile Zim was sitting across the room concentrating on making his pencil hover in the air in front of him (on the brim of his nonexistent nose). If he shifted it just right he could block out the head of his hideous teacher. This 'skool' was the worst part of his deceptive normal human larva routine. Really, the things he had to do to gather information on this pathetic mud ball were just—_grr_—**horrible**!

His thoughts idly wandered until the Halloween fiasco came to mind. Then the events of that morning replayed, the printout had proven most _informative_. Muffled cackles escaped the little green alien as he mused over how deliciously perfect everything had worked to his advantage.

_Now the Gaz human owes me a favor for saving her life. And I no doubt saved the lives of her pathetic human…dog…thing and even (urrgh!) her annoying Dib brother! That's what? THREE FAVORS that she now owes to me—ZIM—the greatest Irken ever to soar the skies!_

"MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA-" gasp for breath, "-HAHAHAHA!!!"

"…doomed…doomed…doomed…"

"Hey Zim," the purple-headed girl behind him poked his head, "you're doing that weird thing where you laugh out loud again."

Readjusting his black wig, and sending a dark glare her way, he turned back around and pretended to pay attention to the monotonous lecture of impending doom.

Dib watched from his desk with his usual suspicious stare. "Whatever you're up to Zim," he whispered, "it won't work."

_RING!_

A collective "YAY!" resounded throughout the classroom as students scrambled over desks and leapt out windows relieved to be momentarily freed from the endless boredom of skool. Lunchtime meant a full forty-five minutes of textbook free, food-slinging fun.

Just down the hall another classroom door was flung open as squealing kids came pouring out. Casually following behind the herd were Gaz and Karcy.

"Um…our teacher has a serious screw loose if he's that happy working in such an underpaid profession." Karcy muttered uneasily.

"Yeah, he's a real optimistic fruit cake." Gaz agreed. "You'll get used to it."

"If you say so," Karcy replied doubtfully then paused and pointed ahead, "Hey, isn't that Zim and your brother?"

Glancing down the hall Gaz groaned in frustration, "Unfortunately yes, I usually eat lunch with my dumb brother."

The wolf girl tilted her head sideways in confusion. "What about Zim?"

"He eats toward the back of the cafeteria with all the other rejects and freaks."

A troubled look crossed Karcy's features. She wasn't fond of Zim, especially not after the unnecessary blackmail, but she did feel a little guilty accepting special treatment while a fellow freak was outcast. "Then…maybe that's where I should sit?"

Raising an eyebrow and slightly opening an eye the Goth girl ventured, "Um…well, I kinda figured you'd be sitting with us."

"But by your skool's social class standards I'm a _freak_. Like Zim. We're both of the paranormal variety, therefore we fall into the same reject bracket. So we should sit in the same designated area of the lunchroom."

_There are times when I really hate logic_. Karcy realized.

"Huh?" Gaz was beginning to consider using a crazy card on her new friend.

Groaning she put it into laymen's terms. "Freaks of a feather eat lunch together."

They had reached the cafeteria doors by then. Gaz shook in horror of having to do something _nice_ while Karcy went off toward the back corner of the room.

"Urgh…KARCY WAIT!"

A few heads turned at Gaz's outburst but after getting a threatening shake of her fist the students quickly resumed their prior activities.

"What?" the disguised werewolf spun around. "Do I have to draw you a diagram or something? I belong back there."

Gaz shuddered as an overly cheerful child sitting at the back table stood up and frantically waved his hands about, "Hi! Wanna come sit with us? There's plenty of room! We could be bestest best friends forever!!"

_This is one of those decisions I'm gonna hate myself for later_. Karcy winced.

"Just hold it okay?!" Gaz snapped. "By your logic I belong back there too."

"How do you figure?" the wolf girl inquired.

"Well I'm not entirely _normal_ either. In fact, I wasn't exactly an average kid before last Halloween." Gaz argued.

"But-"

Gaz shook her head, "Freaks of a feather eat lunch together."

_Stupid words, coming back to bite me in the a-_

"Gaz!"

The magenta haired Goth grumbled as her brother called to her from their usual table…one that wasn't very far from the freaks and rejects section. Grabbing Karcy's hand she pulled her friend along. "C'mon, you're sitting with us. We'll make a new clique, the _cooler_ freaks and rejects…or something."

Shrugging Karcy sat across from Gaz (next to Dib). "Sounds like a plan to me."

"What's SHE doing here?!" Dib regarded Karcy with a mixture of surprise and distrust.

"She's my friend Dib," Gaz said in a low, warning tone. "Either she sits with us at lunch from now on—or I rearrange your ugly face in front of the whole skool!"

Dib gulped, "Okay then, fine."

_What a pushover_. Karcy grinned, _Pretty cute pouter though…_

"It'll give me a chance to observe her integration into society anyway." he muttered in an attempt to save some of his pride at being powerless to stand up to his little sister.

In the back of the lunchroom Zim sat alone at the table next to the geeks, rejects, and um…uncool kids poking warily at his gross looking food.

"I hate Baloney Surprise Day." he grumbled.

Gaz was able to see the disgusted Irken over Karcy's shoulder. Remembering what she'd said earlier about being socially outcast and forced to sit amongst freaks—or in Zim's case, completely alone—she grunted and made her way over to him.

A dark shadow fell over the preoccupied alien causing him to look up from his questionably prepared meal. _Huh? The Gaz Creature?! What does she want?_

"What do _**you**_ want stink beast?" Zim demanded.

Gaz gnashed her teeth together in abhorrence for what she was about to do. "Get up Zim. I want you to come eat at our table from now on."

It wasn't a question, it was an order. "I don't take orders from filthy human worm babies!" Zim declared. Stopping short in his rant his expression switched to one of confusion, "Why are you asking me to eat with you and the Dib beast anyway?"

"Hmph," looking away and crossing her arms Gaz reluctantly answered, "it's not a big deal! You did save my life and all last weekend. I'm just returning the favor."

"An offer to dine on skool manufacture garbage with you hardly compares to my saving you from certain doom little Gaz." Zim stated slyly.

"Well it's a start isn't it?!" she fumed.

The smug smirk never left Zim's face.

"Look, either you wanna come eat with us or you don't! Either way I really don't care!" Gaz's amber eyes were open and beaming with rage. How dare Zim interpret her extremely out-of-character gesture as a pathetic attempt to repay her stupid debt to him.

"What is she doing?" Dib questioned, turning in his seat to stare at the odd scene behind their table.

"Maybe she's trying to integrate the alien kid into a social class?" Karcy gave a knowing grin before chugging down her second mini carton of milk.

"She's what?" Dib was getting more confused by the minute. "What the heck are you talking about?! Gaz doesn't help out anyone unless there's something in it for her. Yeah, you'll see," he turned back around with an air of confidence, "she's probably just threatening Zim for his lunch money or something."

"He already bought his lunch Dib," Karcy chuckled.

"Hn, I'm back." Gaz announced, taking her seat across from the wolf girl.

Before Dib could ask her what on Earth she was doing talking to Zim said alien appeared and plopped his lunch tray down across from his.

Dib's eyes enlarged tenfold. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing, pathetic little Earth monkey?" Zim replied cockily, "I'm sitting down to enjoy a nice normal meal with my disgustingly human friends."

Dib's left eye started to twitch.

"I wouldn't say friends." Gaz objected.

"Gaz…" Karcy spoke up.

Grunting Gaz stabbed her gravy coated slab of meat with a fork, "Fine Zim, we'll be your…_**FRIENDS**_."

"Excellent," Zim's tone was laced with malice as he slumped forward in an 'evil pose'.

Dib held a finger out toward his otherworldly adversary, his mouth agape, with BOTH eyes now twitching.

"I don't think that includes Dib." Karcy said, half amused and half weirded out.

"Who cares?" Gaz muttered, continuously stabbing the meat she had no intention of eating.

Once the vicious slaughtering of the already dead meat had died down a bit Zim attempted to lure Gaz into conversation. "So Gaz, how are you enjoying being part Irken now?"

Before she could answer Dib slammed his fist down on the table, "How do you **think **she feels Zim?! She _**hates**_ it! Who in their right mind would wanna be part of your crummy alien race anyway?!"

The outburst earned him a scowl from his alien foe. "Better watch your tongue Dib. One day soon you'll be working under the rule of the mighty Irken race! You pathetic Earth stinks make me sick! Just what's so great about humanity anyway?!"

Smirking Dib replied, "Well for one thing, we don't all have panic attacks every time it rains."

Gaz snickered at this whereas Karcy looked baffled.

"Wait…Irkens are susceptible to water?"

"That's right," Dib grinned, "one little water balloon can make Zim here squirm like an ant covered in _insecticide_."

Zim clenched the edge of the table in an attempt to repress his fury toward Dib for openly discussing his embarrassing weakness. Oh how he'd like to fry the human's insides right that very instant…but he couldn't risk causing a scene and quite likely blowing his cover. "You're just jealous because my technology is years beyond anything your race will ever create!"

"Oh yeah," Dib chuckled, "a bunch of attack lawn gnomes with lasers for eyes, that's _real_ scary stuff your people have invented Zim."

Gaz snickered again, her face still glued to the screen of her Game Slave.

Zim growled looking over at her, things weren't going according to plan at all. "So then Gaz, you agree with your filthy brother? Being Irken disgusts you does it?! Hm? HM?!"

Hitting the pause button on her handheld video game the black clad girl mused over the question for a while before shrugging, muttering a quick "Eh", and then hitting start again.

"How very articulate of you Gaz," Karcy sighed.

"Oh my gosh, would you look back there!" an annoyingly high pitched voice shrieked from the head of the cafeteria. "Ew, they're all sitting together now! It's like some sort of giant freak fest!"

The four students glared at the preppy blonde grimacing at them from the 'popular table'.

"Hey! They BEGGED me to sit here!" Zim shouted, shaking an 'iron fist' at the girl. "Now shove some vile meat into your filthy wormhole before I lose my patience with you!"

"Huh?" the blonde blinked.

The dark haired girl sitting beside her translated, "I think he just told you to 'shut up'."

"What?! He can't do that!" she turned back to the green kid. "Do you even know who I am?!"

"No!" Zim exclaimed. "And I don't care!"

"Zim! Sit down!" Dib hissed. "She's the most popular girl in skool and she can make our already miserable lives ten times worse!"

His right eye twitching Zim turned on his nemesis, "Do you honestly expect me—_**ZIM**_—to sit here and be insulted by a measly _human_?! Have you the BRAIN WORMS?!"

"Yeah Dib," Gaz grinned after saving her stats, "besides, seeing Zim tell that prissy airhead off is pretty funny."

The 'airhead' stormed over to the table causing the whole cafeteria's attention to turn their way. She poked Gaz on the shoulder then placed on her hands on her hips demanding, "What did you call me freak?!"

Zim, Karcy, and Dib froze. Their gaze shifted steadily from Gaz to the popular girl and back again. Gasps echoed throughout the lunchroom as the Membrane girl turned off her Game Slave and stood up to face the slightly taller blonde.

"I called you a_prissy airhead_." Gaz repeated, venom dripping from her voice.

The blonde clenched her fists, "Oh really? Well you're just an ugly little freak with no friends and no life!"

Zim looked confused, "Are you blind human? She's clearly alive."

"And she DOES have friends." Karcy added.

Dib raised an eyebrow at her. _Wow, the werewolf's really standing up for Gaz. Maybe they are friends?_

"There now, you see, be gone horrible Earth child! Back to your stupid 'airhead' table!" Zim commanded.

"Hmph," the blonde turned as if to leave, Gaz was about to sit back down when suddenly the 'airhead' spun around holding an opened bottle of flavored water which she promptly squirted all over the stunned Goth.

The cafeteria fell so quiet that one could hear a pin drop without having to strain their ears in the least. The silence was soon broken by bursts of laughter from the amused blonde. Back at the front of the room the preps at her table started laughing too. Before long the entire lunchroom was in hysterics, all laughter aimed at a very soaked, very peeved Gaz Membrane.

Karcy looked horrified, Dib seemed extremely uneasy, and Zim backed away a few steps to distance himself from the dripping wet maniac. Gaz locked eyes with the popular girl across from her, giving her a look that loudly proclaimed _"I will rain unfathomable __**doom **__upon your wretched heart!"_

The look caused the prep to snap her mouth shut and flinch as Gaz snatched her pink dress by the collar and clenched her free hand into a tight fist. "I will DESTROY you!"

Zim smirked, _This should be fun to watch_. His wicked smile faded fast when he caught a glimpse of the steam rising off of Gaz's neck and hands. A few spiraling streams emerged from her hair too, and then others appeared seeping through her clothes. _Uh-oh…_

Before Gaz's fist could connect with the prissy elementary skooler's jaw a wave of sudden unbearably painful burning sensations swept over her entire body. Her amber eyes widened then flashed purple (irises, whites,_and_ pupils!). This went unnoticed by everyone except those at her table—plus the freaked out blonde girl. Grinding her teeth Gaz shoved the loudmouthed prep away and made a staggered run for the emergency exit. This burning! It was too much! She wanted to scream, to writhe in uncontrollable agony! But _why_?

Once outside she darted behind a dumpster near the cellar doors which supposedly led to the underground classrooms. _W-What the heck is going on?! Why's my skin freaking out like this?! It's just a little flavored water!_Realization dawned on her as her pale peach skin faded into a light shade of green. Two lightning shaped antennas sprouted from her hair and her fingertips narrowed into pointed claws. She couldn't see it but she knew her eyes had turned purple too. Growling out in frustration she put the pieces together, _Noo!!! That airhead's water stunt made me lose control of my transformation! I'm stuck as an Irken now! And my skin is BURNING from the stupid water!_

Back inside the cafeteria the blonde stumbled to her feet to meet with the glares of Karcy and Dib. Not that she cared what those losers thought of her but the shadow that crawled along the floor, stopped just in front of her, sprouted upwards and wove into the form of the dreaded Ms. Bitters made her quiver in horror.

Hissing like a viper Ms. Bitters zoomed in on her prey. No one picked fights in the lunchroom while _**she**_ was on duty!

Dib and Karcy exchanged satisfied smiles. Ms. Bitters would handle the prep.

"We'd better find Gaz," Karcy said worriedly.

"Hey," Dib skimmed the lunchroom for the fourth member of their table, "where's Zim?!"

* * *

Outside Gaz had pulled her knees up to her chest and sat leaning against the side of the chained cellar doors. This day had been awful. Why'd she ever invite Zim to sit at her table anyway? This whole mess would've never been started if the four 'freaks' hadn't been eating lunch together. Then again…

_Why should I care what that bimbo thinks? I don't! And I don't care what the rest of those losers think either. _Whereas most kids her age would've been bawling by now Gaz was seething with pent up rage. She really needed something to destroy right now. Something (or some_one_) she could unleash her terrifying doom upon.

"Hn, Gaz Human…are you out here?" Zim tried to sound as indifferent as possible. The recent events in the lunchroom had thrown off his plans. He'd meant to casually mention his findings to Gaz, how was he to know that bigmouthed human girl would drench her with water before he had a chance?

"Go away Zim," Gaz was glaring daggers at a beetle as it mindlessly attempted to crawl up the side of the dumpster across from her.

Frowning Zim folded his arms over his chest, he was not going to be ignored by a filthy pouting meat puppet!

"Pitiful human! You cannot order _Zim_ around! It is _**I**_ who shall be making the orders to _**you**_!"

Growling Gaz turned her death glare on the disguised alien. Zim felt an icy shiver run down his spine causing him to cringe involuntarily. Forcing himself to stand up straight again he marched over to the Goth girl and grabbed her upper arm.

"Let me go Zim." Gaz warned in her frighteningly low and ominous tone. "This is your ONLY warning."

Squinting down at the defiant Earthling he replied, "Your threats don't scare me little Gaz. Either you come with me back to my base now or you'll never be able to walk around as your stinking human self again."

That actually peaked her interest. "What do _you_ know about my transformation?"

The alien laughed haughtily and explained, "With the aid of advanced Irken technology and my _**amazingly brilliant mind**_ I have managed to gather boundless information on your new hybrid form…including your weaknesses and how to get around them."

Standing up she yanked her arm free of his grasp. "And just how are we supposed to get out of here without someone seeing me this way?"

In lieu of a reply Zim grabbed a communicator that sprouted from his PAK. "GIR! Send the Voot Cruiser to the back of the Skool immediately!"

A cheery "OKEY DOKEY!" replied and seconds later the small spaceship descended from overhead nearly squashing the two life forms below.

"Get in," Zim ordered once he was at the ship's controls.

With slight hesitation Gaz shrugged and climbed aboard. _Eh, how much trouble can stupid Zim get me into anyway?_

When Karcy and Dib raced outside they were already too late to stop Zim's latest plan. The Voot Cruiser ascended up over the Skool and zoomed off in the direction of his base.

"Why's he taking Gaz?" Karcy asked.

"I don't know," Dib answered dramatically, eyes narrowed behind the frames of his bottle cap glasses, "But someone's got to stop him before it's too late!"

* * *

_To be continued…_


End file.
